Rangarajan calls for release of additional food stocks through PDS

According to C Rangarajan, chairman of the economic advisory council to the prime minister, additional food stocks should be released by the government through the public distribution system (PDS) to control the spiraling food inflation.

''We must release more food stocks through the PDS. It's also important to find additional channels like cooperative societies to make stocks available to all segments at a price which is a little less than the market price. This will drive the prevalent price down,'' Rangarajan said in Kolkata on Friday.

Typically the PDS stock in the country comprises 25.66 million tonnes of rice and 16.8 million tonnes of wheat.

''We have already procured 24 million tonnes of rice,'' he said.

According to the senior economist and former RBI governor, a downtrend in food prices would set in by the second half of 2010-11, on a good Rabi season harvest.

''If the Rabi crop proves to be good, food prices may reverse from the second half of the fiscal and the general inflation may ease to 6 per cent by that time,'' Rangarajan said at an event organised by Calcutta Chamber of Commerce on Friday.